The importers also complained that valuation of goods before release from the port to the importers in Mombasa was taking too long.

Julius Musyoki, a customs official, said under the new rule, all second-hand items of similar weight and value would be ranked together.

“The Commission of Custom and Border has decided to standardise the duty on some imported items to harmonise the charges on imported goods of similar weight to fight under valuation,” he said.

Mr Musyoki however said the commission had not standardised the minimum duty on second-hand imports because that was not within its mandate.

Mr Ngala also protested against what he viewed as hindering bureaucratic procedures during valuation of imported second-hand goods at the port.

He said the back-and-forth between customs officers and their bosses slowed down clearance of imported goods at the port.

“Most valuation officers cannot assign value for goods until they share what they had valued with their bosses. This means the bosses have no faith in them and when they are not there, no goods can leave the port,” said Ngala.

He added: “Traders in second-hand items will find it difficult to sell their goods in the market after paying a duty of Sh1 million on goods, which sometimes are of low quality.”

Valuation data

He suggested that valuation data should be made public so importers can share the information with the customs officers instead of keeping such information secret.

Clearing and forwarding agents demanded the removal of bottlenecks that hindered the fast-tracking of valuation process for imports.

“All customs officers are fully trained to do valuation. I do not see why they must first share the valuation they had made with their bosses,” said Ngala.

The agents also faulted the revenue authority’s valuation department, which they want scrapped and its work allocated to trained customs officers.